Coin Roll Hunting; Getting harder to find stuff?

Hey all, old member here, finally back after a good few years, going to be doing some more coin roll hunting soon.

Have any long timers found it getting more difficult to find the generally sought after coins such as buffalo nickels, wheat pennies, silver coins etc? I've noticed a severe drop in wheat cent finds in typical pocket change over the past decade (found a very worn one for the first time in years last week)

Just curious as to what you guys are finding to set my own expectation straight. Been about getting close to a decade so obviously things have changed haha

 

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Expect to find no silver, except half dollars. I always get them when available
With the economy booming for most Americans, people don’t dig for change in drawers and sofas. Coinage for business is history, except for quarters and they get heavily searched.
If I do CRH, nickels and dimes help with my fix.
Helpful hint: Nickel and dime rolls can be weighed to determine the count. Set your scale to grams. About 113.5 for dimes, 199.8 for nickels. Accounts for most wrappers and metal wear. Pennies can’t weigh out since the change to zinc in 1982

 

Yes.

I don't hunt much anymore, but in the past few years, I would get about 1 war nickel per box.
Halves seem hunted out by me, but I guess it's about volume. I met a guy dumping at the same credit union as me and he does 8+ boxes a week and says he finds stuff. So I guess it's volume and timing.

 

My banks turned stingy and will no longer allow me to buy boxes of change. Those are saved for "business customers." If they have an extra box around, they'll sell it to me, but I have to play it careful. They still claim a coin shortage. My best finds come in nickels. It isn't much, but it is something (one war nickel a box, one buffalo every other). Since hunting in 2007, I would say that my pickings are much smaller now. I also go through a lot less volume, as mentioned by @Lon Chaney .

 

They’re still out there. I just don’t find any 38 nickels no more

 

I just found and posted a West Point quarter and a 1959D quarter last week. Still a few CUDs out there too. I agree good stuff is harder to find but not impossible.

 

Cause I CRH in NYS. lol

 

I haven't done coin roll hunting in 2+ years, but in the last nickel box I searched, I got maybe three or four buffalo nickels (I can't remember exactly) and 5 war nickels which is a great result for my first (and likely last) nickel box.

 

And for @coingeek12
What you really want to look for in nickels, beside the 42-45 issues:
Clips, cuds, clashes, capped

 

Cool coins, but for heaven's sake flatten those staples!

 

Keep in mind the current mintages dwarf what was minted in the past. I think the mintage for LWCs was 72B over 50 years. In the past 2-3 decades, 3-6B of LMC/LSCs a year. This creates a natural scarcity for LWCs. Further, noncollectors will pluck funny looking older money because it’s old and different. More scarcity. And decades of collectors snagging LWCs. More scarcity. If you are buying a brick to search solely for LWCs and maybe an IHC, then you need to curb your expectations. CRH events of old would yield better results largely because the population of LMCs to LWCs had a much better ratio than LWCs versus LMCs and LSCs combined. When I would CRH a few years ago, maybe 5-8 LWCs in a box. For that reason, I recommend variety and error hunting as well. You are far more likely to find more valuable finds in the LMC/LSC than the LWCs and more of them.

Nickels are the best for searching. You can still find old and war silver. And variety and error specimens. Also, improved odds of finding high grade specimens even from the 50s forward.

Dimes are picked by silver stackers, so collectors have lots of competition from noncollectors. Quarters too. As for variety and error coins go, I assume the same is true. But I have never really brought this denominations into my CRH fold.

Volume is key but if you’re variety hunting, the search is slowed down and sometimes considerably. Also, location is key. Some CRH enthusiasts are lucky to have an LCS nearby where they routinely dump details coins and common ish overstock. And banks near older communities where collectors who have passed have their collections dumped. I’ve noticed CRH enthusiasts from Florida near retirement communities do exceedingly well in comparison. Right place…right time.

 

Just ordered a box of dollars and two of halves, they said itll be about two weeks to get in, where do they usually get the boxes in from?

 

Banks work with distributors like Brinks to sell and buy coinage. The banks are charged fees to return coins and perhaps to buy them. Essentially, they do this for their business accounts. If you are a customer (not a business),they may or may not oblige you. Keep this in mind as they do favors for customers but if you are costing them, they will shut you off.

Most folks getting halves and dollars (quarters and dimes too) are silver stackers. They can ruin the opportunities for collectors since they quickly turn boxes as they aren’t looking for collectibles. Nickels and Cent searchers are mostly collectors.

 

Would it be a pretty good expectation to expect no silver from the boxes of dollars or halves?

Not that that bothers me, I enjoy just looking.

 

Definitely no silver in a box of small dollars.
Good luck with the halves, you never know.

 

You will find the most silver in half dollars, when available

 

It is the thrill of the hunt. But temper your expectations.

Heavymetal is right. Halves have the greatest potential for older silver. You might get a great box…usually a dump of a deceased collector’s collection by the collector’s family. With stretches of famine between. That’s why knowing your varieties is important.

 

Some banks pay suppliers by the month, no real limit.Ask the branch manager.
And ask for customer rolls if they pay per box.